The Whirlwind Start To Jelly Roll's Romance With His Wife Bunnie XO
The lives of Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie XO changed drastically since the two started dating. When the pair first met in Las Vegas in 2015, Roll was a struggling musician, and Bunnie was working as an escort. "Oh yeah, I'm sleeping in a van," the "Save Me" artist said in a joint interview with his wife while they recalled their first meeting on the "Bussin' With the Boys" podcast in June.
Bunnie had attended a show where Roll performed and there were around 20 people in the audience. There was an instant attraction when the two met after the show. "When I met him ... literally my soul was like, 'There you are,'" Bunnie said. At the time, Bunnie was dating somebody else, but she stayed in touch with Roll, and she happened to be single the next time he came to town, as her ex-boyfriend wound up in prison.
When the future couple reconnected, Bunnie decided to make her feelings crystal clear. "[S]he shot her shot. She came into the room we were all in and just sat on my lap," the country star recalled on the podcast "Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singh" in August. 2023. They became a couple that night. "It's a white trash love story ... I could just feel the genuineness of her," Roll said on "The Golden Hour" podcast in 2020.
Almost immediately, the couple started planning their future together, which led to almost immediate changes in their lives.
Their marriage was a spur of the moment decision
When Jelly Roll started dating Bunnie XO, he was broke and still working to get his music career off the ground. Meanwhile, Bunnie had money, but was unsatisfied with her line of work. "I might've seen her with money, but I seen her at her lowest too," the "Son of a Sinner" artist recalled on the podcast "Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singh" in August 2023.
The pair wasted no time, and discussed how they could change their lives. "She jokes that first night that I asked for a five-year plan. That next morning we really did make a five-year plan," Roll said. According to Roll, Bunnie had mentioned starting a podcast that first night together — she now has the popular "Dumb Blonde Podcast."
Roll and Bunnie dove head first into building their lives together, and took the same approach when they decided to get hitched. "We got married kind of randomly," he recalled on "The Golden Hour" podcast in 2020. The "Dead Man Walking" singer said it was a spur of the moment decision to get married one night in Las Vegas. To celebrate their six-year wedding anniversary in 2022, Roll made an Instagram post where he recalled how the couple "stumbled into [a] court house drunk and got married." For their seven-year anniversary, Roll and Bunnie renewed their vows in that same wedding chapel. One major change was Bunnie was able to rock a beautiful dress that time around.
Once together, Bunnie had an indelible impact on Roll's family life.
Bunnie XO is a great stepmom
As mentioned, Bunnie XO was the breadwinner early on in her relationship with Jelly Roll, as he was just starting to gain traction with his music career. To further complicate matters, the "Need a Favor" singer had two children — his daughter, Bailee, and his son, Noah — from two different women. Bailee's mother had substance abuse issues, so Roll wanted full-time custody of his daughter, which was difficult as a struggling musician. "I would have never got custody of my daughter without [Bunnie]. I wouldn't have had the stability or the money," he told Billboard in June 2023.
Bunnie relished her role as a stepmom and became very close with Bailee, as she lived with her dad full-time. "Over the years watching her relationship with Bailee blossom into this beautiful mother daughter bond that it has become has been nothing short of magical," Roll wrote in a touching Instagram post dedicated to his wife on Mother's Day in 2020. That caption was alongside a group shot of Roll, Bunnie, and Bailee cozying up on a couch together.
The country artist has been open about the impact Bunnie had on his life, both personally and professionally. "She saved me in one of the darkest times of my life. She has been nothing but supportive," Roll wrote on Instagram for a post he dubbed the "Bunnie Appreciation Post" in July. He gushed over how his wife transitioned from her old career into becoming a successful podcaster, all while having a positive influence on his own life.